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Winston Sieck

26 posts · 12,267 views

Cognitive psychologist who studies the strategies people use to learn, think, and make decisions, and how these strategies differ across cultures and levels of expertise. He received his PhD in cognitive psychology and MA in statistics from the University of Michigan.

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If you’ve been reading about any of the new adventures in education, such as project-based learning, you’ve surely noticed the word competence sprinkled throughout. You may have thought, “Why do I keep hearing about competence? It sounds like another fad in my kid’s education. Wish they’d focus on getting test scores up.” In fact, competence […]... Read more »

McClelland, D. C. (1973) Testing for competence rather than for "intelligence.". American psychologist, 28(1), 1-14. info:/

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A great way to learn is by asking questions. A question begs to be answered. When you ask a question, your mind starts to explore information in new and purposeful ways. Research on questioning has shown that some forms of questioning work better than others. Questions that invite explanations, such as “why,” “how does that […]... Read more »

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Can an eighth-grade math student apply her knowledge of geometry to estimate the square footage of the family’s new home? If so, then she has experienced transfer of learning. Transfer of learning means to extend knowledge you’ve gained from one situation to new ones. Parents and educators hope that kids get more out of school […]... Read more »

Barnett, S. M., & Ceci, S. J. (2002) When and where do we apply what we learn? A taxonomy for far transfer. Psychological bulletin, 128(4), 612-637. info:/10.1037//0033-2909.128.4.612

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You fall off of a ledge, dropping through a hole in the floor, only to find yourself hurtling out the side of a wall like a cannon ball. If you can imagine that easily, you have great spatial thinking skills. Or you’ve been playing Portal 2. Perhaps your spatial thinking skills got a boost from […]... Read more »

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Which is the most useful kind of knowledge – general knowledge about how to think well, or specific knowledge within many subject areas? The idea that we can train the mind to use core cognitive skills that are effective in a wide range of situations is really fantastic. But, maybe it’s too fantastic. General, learnable, […]... Read more »

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Everyday learning often starts with a surprise. Something unexpected happens and you use that to change your understanding. You learn the most when you use metacognitive strategies to adapt your mindset. Metacognition is what you know about how you think and learn. It includes knowing what you know (and what you don’t). It also includes […]... Read more »

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In thinking through any complex issue, there are going to be different possible solutions and perspectives. Ideally, a smart and critical thinker would reason through the pros and cons of the different possibilities and come to a balanced view of the issue. Yet a great deal of research finds that people tend to just consider […]... Read more »

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One of the core ways we learn is by listening to lectures. We learn more when we take notes, especially when making use of good note taking strategies. Note taking affords you with an external record of what was said. Incomplete, by all means, but something you can look back at later. Note taking also […]... Read more »

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Argumentation is the thought process used to develop and present arguments. It is closely related to critical thinking and reasoning. Argumentation belongs among the essential 21st century cognitive skills. We face complex issues that require careful, balanced reasoning to resolve. Perhaps for this reason, argumentative reasoning skills are now part of the “common core” for [...]... Read more »

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In days of old, a good bit of learning was done by rote memorization. The lesson is given. Recite and repeat over and over until you’ve got it down. Rote learning still exists. It gets used in some places and for some topics. A radically different approach is discovery learning. With discovery learning, you work [...]... Read more »

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You may have heard that we now live in something called a “knowledge economy.” One big implication is the premium put on the ability to ramp up your knowledge about new topics. Whatever else students are learning in school, they also need to practice study skills that can help them learn more quickly. Having a [...]... Read more »

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Starting an argument with someone can be a great way to learn more about a topic. Arguments help us check our own thinking, come to terms with someone else’s reasoning, and occasionally even arrive at a shared understanding about what we believe to be true. Everyday arguments are often messy. The parties involved in the [...]... Read more »

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You never used to hear anyone say the word cognition. More and more, it seems to crop up in all kinds of places. I see cognition crop up in newspapers, magazines, and letters from my kid’s school. As someone who makes his living off of cognition, that’s comforting. But what is cognition really about? Is [...]... Read more »

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Overconfidence happens to all of us. Ever have a plan that just couldn’t go wrong? And then you get a kick in the butt. Ever know that something must be true, only to find out later that you had it backwards? Overconfidence is when you think you are more likely to be right than you [...]... Read more »

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What does intelligence mean to you? Take a moment to really think about that. Now, ask yourself another question – why do you think that? Where did your ideas about the nature of intelligence really come from? There are two main ways that people think about intelligence. Perhaps the most common view is that intelligence [...]... Read more »

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Learning has gotten complicated. We often need to answer challenging technical and scientific questions to get by in our everyday life. The internet has become the default means to get those answers. Yet learning from the web is fraught with … Continue reading →... Read more »

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Sure, you praise your kids. They look at you with beaming little faces. Such a warm feeling, if only for a moment. Is that all there is to praise? What’s simmering in the brain behind those sparkling eyes? It may … Continue reading →... Read more »

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When someone bravely raises metaphysics at a gathering, autonomic responses take over. Some start to salivate, whereas others roll their eyes. The very few people who have attempted to bring up “metacognition” in polite conversation have also met with an … Continue reading →... Read more »

Why is this post inappropriate?

The very few people who have attempted to bring up “metacognition” in polite conversation have mostly been met with uncontrolled reactions. Eyes glaze over and mouths get dry. Vague associations with metaphysics and mysticism might be made. The quick-witted excuse themselves to pour another drink. Is this “flight” reaction well-tuned? Should you be anticipating a [...]... Read more »

Why is this post inappropriate?

Direct displays of respect can reduce conflict in Arab protests, where a premium is placed on honor. Such displays enable people in potentially volatile crowd situations to accrue honor while avoiding risks associated with violent confrontation. These conclusions are based … Continue reading →... Read more »

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